Time to dial back on diabetes treatment in older patients? Study finds 11 percent are overtreated
But what if stopping, or at least cutting back on, such drugs could help even more in some patients? In some older people, such "deintensification" of diabetes treatment may be the safer route, because of the risks of falls and other issues that come with too-low blood sugar. But a new study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine suggests more doctors and such patients should work together to dial back diabetes treatment. Who's over-treated? Almost 11 percent of Medicare participants with diabetes had very low blood sugar levels that suggested they were being over-treated, the new study finds. But only 14 percent of these patients had a reduction in blood sugar medication refills in the next six months. Patients over age 75, and those who qualified for both Medicare and Medicaid because of low incomes or serious disability, were most likely to be over-treated. Those who lived in urban areas or were of Hispanic origin were less likely to be over-treated....